Page 96 of All That Glitters

“How sure are you that it wasn’t the guy who lived there?”

“One hundred percent sure.”

He glares at me, and I know he knows the guy’s dead, but I’ll never admit it out loud. “Sounds to me like your friend has caught more than just your eye. She needs to be careful.”

“I’ll tell her.”

“I recommend you stay away from her until all this blows over. Lucky for you, stalking cases are still notoriously hard to prove. And your motive is unclear. As shitty as it sounds, her previous profession will work in your favor too.”

“Yeah? We both fucked other people, so how come she’s the bad guy?” Shit. A moment of clarity now was not what I was expecting.

“I didn’t say it was fair. It’s just how it is. Stay away from her, Midas. Get someone else to warn her.”

“Aye, aye.” I salute him.

He flips me off as he reaches his Jaguar. I wait as he climbs in and lowers the window. “At the very least, try not to get caught.” I smirk as he pulls away from the curb and drives away.

I look back at the station and slip off my cut before turning it inside out and sliding it back on. I tug my hood up and move into the shadows before making my way back toward the precinct. The entrance is flooded with light, but there is nowhere to park out here. The lot is in the back, which is why my truck is all the way back there. There’s a bus stop farther down and a pull-in area used by cabs picking up and dropping off right next to the alley. I slip into the mouth of it and wait. She’s just as likely to call a friend as she is to call a cab, but I’m banking on her not wanting to call a friend, given how late it is.

I poke my head out when I hear footsteps and see Legs with her phone to her ear. She looks around, scanning the area, and I wonder if she’s looking for me. I listen to her place a call for a cab and wait until she hangs up and puts her phone away. As she turns to look at the road, I slip out of the shadows, cover her mouth with one hand, and lift her off her feet with the other.

She freezes solid before her fight-and-flight instinct kicks in, and she bucks against me, pushing her ass into my throbbing cock. Before she completely loses her mind, I place my lips against her ear and growl, “It’s me. Stop fighting. I don’t want to hurt the baby.”

She goes rigid, but thankfully, she stops fighting. While she’s in a daze, I hurry us over to my truck and yank the passenger door open before placing her inside.

The second I step back, she moves to dive back out. I bend down in front of her and get in her face. “You get out of this truck, Legs, and I’ll put you over my knee and spank your ass until it burns.”

“I’ll scream. I’ll have this place swarming with cops.”

“You think they’ll care? You know how they just treated us. They’ll assume it’s just a lovers’ quarrel.” I steal the words the asshole used and slam the door closed, hitting the key fob to lock the doors so she can’t get out. I click it again when I round the truck and climb in beside her. When her hand grabs the handle, I lock it once more, making her hiss.

“Midas, I’m not kidding here. Let me go.”

“No can do. Not until we talk.”

“I don’t want to talk to you.”

“That’s fine. Then you can just listen to what I have to say.”

I reach for her bag. When she drops it in the footwell, I rummage inside it until I have her phone. I slip it into my pocket before removing my cut and laying it on the back seat next to thevase of dandelions. She looks out the side window, oblivious, so I don’t draw attention to them. Now’s not the time.

“I want my phone back. I need to call my friend,” she grits out without looking at me.

I ignore her and pull out before heading back to Au. When she realizes I’m not going to reply, she stops talking, wringing her hands in her lap. I hate the acrimonious atmosphere between us. I hate that I caused it, and that before the night is over, she’ll hate me even more than she does already. But I’m too far gone to change my course of action now.

When I pull up behind the shop, she glances up and swallows. “What are we doing here, Midas?”

“I told you, we need to talk.”

She closes her eyes in defeat. “And you’ll take me home when we’re done talking?”

“I’ll make sure you’re home,” I agree carefully.

“Fine. Let’s get this over with.”

I pop the locks and climb out, grabbing my cut but leaving the vase on the back seat. By the time I make it to Legs’s door, she’s already climbing out and waiting for me. She folds her arms over her chest in a protective manner.

“Come on.” I walk beside her, not wanting her to try to escape. I unlock the door and take a step back, so she has to squeeze past me in the narrow passageway. I relock the door and head upstairs, leaving her no choice this time but to follow me.